Leadership,Psychology,Tournaments 9 October 2011

When I talk about my sport, I struggle to decide what to call it: ultimate or Frisbee? The latter dredges up images of dogs chasing plastic across a stretch of fresh grass, certainly better manicured than any fields we ever get a chance to use. The former is just silly (a sport named after an adjective?!), the product of stoned hippies discovering a new game they could play that would allow them to feel like athletes for an hour or two. “Hey man, this shit is the ultimate!” they’d opine in between drags from a joint and cups of beer (certainly applying the same statement to their bud or brew). I suppose I should feel lucky that they chose “ultimate” over another adjective–I could be playing “groovy Frisbee.”

 Leadership,Psychology 14 September 2011

We all say we want constructive feedback, but not all of us are equipped to receive it, openly and in a manner that makes it a worthwhile effort on everyone’s part. Although there seems to be lots of opportunities to learn how to deliver feedback, I think what’s missing is learning how to receive it. Being skilled at receiving feedback can make the process more manageable and comfortable for everyone involved! And we just have to trust that our counterparts are doing their part in learning how to best deliver it. They have their work cut out for them, so let’s help them out a bit!

 Leadership,Main,Practice,Psychology 27 August 2011

Most of us have played other team sports since we were kids so we have gotten used to the initial period when you first join a team and you get to know the other players.

However, no matter the sport you play – hockey, baseball, basketball or ultimate – there are many commonalities between the sports as far as team dynamics go. I’ve been a member of teams since I was 10 years old and I’ve also gotten to coach sports teams so I’ve seen both sides of the coin and with that, bring a perspective that a lot of players don’t have.

 Featured,History,Leadership,Practice,Psychology,Spirit of the Game,Throwing,Training 5 February 2011

I was inspired to write this today because in thinking back over my roughly 10 year ultimate career thus far, I got thinking about the moment that really changed the course of my game. It wasn’t hard to remember that day, nor was it hard to remember the advice given to me. Advice that would both humble and inspire me to work at my game with such dedication and passion that I would surprise even myself with how good I would become at throwing.

 Leadership,Psychology 7 June 2010

If I learned one thing about leadership in the past 5 years it is to avoid trying to clone myself. Although I may be great (or think I am) at many aspects of the game, like defense, speed, agility, field sense, anticipating plays developing, I am by no means perfect. My throws are not technical, my confidence breaks down, I lose intensity and motivation when it’s cold, and I can rarely identify what the other team’s defensive and offensive strategies are, to name but a few of my weaknesses. Yet, erroneously, when I have been in a leadership role in the past, I have, inadvertently tried to create a team of “me’s”. I recently read an article on management tips and appreciated the one entitled avoid trying to clone yourself as a perfect summary of this type of leadership error.